Scottiano Shepherd (collie) – with long hair and short hair

The popular dog, known as Lassie Breed, is actually a long shepherd’s shepherd dog. Eric Knight’s book «Lassie, go back!», Published in 1940, tells the story of a devoted dog who loves his friend above. How much truth is there in the characterization of the breed as we know it from the novel? One thing is certain: if you are thinking of buying a long -handed Scottish shepherd dog, prepared for hours of hugs, as well as for intense hair that combine themselves.

Scottish Shepherd Collie

The breed is originally from Scotland, from which the first documents on it date back to the Middle Ages. Therefore, it is a very ancient race and local Scottish dogs have probably played a role in its formation, together with these dogs brought by settlers from Italy. During modern works on the reproduction line, the genes of the Russian eggar and Border Collie were mixed, which led to the current form of the breed.

In 1840, the first club for Collie Fans and Shepherd Dogs – «Collie Club» was established.

The silhouette of a collie

The Scottish shepherd dog has a strong, athletic and muscle body structure. The medium constitution body must not be unstoppable. Height at Greaben (the prominent part of the body of an animal quadruped Located between the neck and the back) It is about 55-60 cm, the females are slightly smaller. The length of the body is slightly longer, which makes the silhouette correspond to a rectangle. Collie’s head has the shape of a perfect but truncated feather, the almond and oblique eyes are characteristic of the breed, providing a smiling and pleasant expression. The ears are small, refrained at about 2/3 of their height. Collie Scottish has a very strongly developed and deep chest, typical of pasture breeds. The rear is strong and the limbs are well involved.

Scottish Sheepdog – Totallare

There are two models of Scottish shepherd dog recorded at the FCI kennel – Scottish collies with long hair and Scottish necklines with short hair. Dogs differ only in the length and quality of the fur. However, the fur itself is the same: the tricolor is accepted, brown with white or marbled (so called Merle Blu). Overall, a white collar, socks and arrows are desirable.

Shepherd Scotland dog with long hair

The variety with long hair has a long, straight and hard fur. On the other hand, lower hair is extremely abundant and beautiful, easy like the hands. This structure means that, in sensitive areas – behind the ears, the elbows and in the inguinal area – the fur likes to fall. In addition, it is necessary to remove the sized branches or branches after the walks. It is recommended to comb the dog every day or two days, while every week or two, this procedure should be performed carefully, reaching each place and taking care not to damage the lower hair. A metal comb with few spaces and a two -frills brush are ideal for this.

Certainly don’t laugh at your Scottish shepherd! The fur is his business book and plays an important biological role: he protects his skin from parasites, wounds, warms it in the cold months and cools it in the warm months, being also a protection against rainfall. When you decide for a Scottish shepherd dog, prepared for long hair left on each furniture in the house. Despite the regular cure in fur, the dogs in this race likes to lose their hair.

Scottish shepherd dog with short hair

Collia with short hair has a short short fur with lower thick hair and rigid external hair. The care of this variety is much simpler than that of long -haired collies. For example, a regular bathroom is sufficient and, occasionally, combing the hair with a brush.

Scottish shepherd – Health

Scottish shepherd dogs have a predisposition to certain genetic diseases. A high incidence of them took place during the improper reproduction activities mentioned above. Currently, these diseases are less and less frequent, but farmers are obliged to perform genetic tests, as well as joint radiographs for joint dysplasia.

One of the hereditary diseases is the anomaly of the eye collie (that), which affects the vision and can even lead to blindness. Another, also linked to the body of vision, are microftalmia and anophthalmia, that is, very small eyes or lack of eyes – these defects develop during the dog’s fetal life. On the other hand, the coupling of the Blue Merle individuals can lead to the birth of the blind chicken, which is why this coupling is prohibited in many countries.

Collie, in particular the long -lasting version, has hypersensitivity to anesthetics and some drugs. Each master of a Scottish shepherd should take a genetic test to identify this condition. This is extremely important, because for each operation, also for castration, anesthesia and antibiotics are administered.

Shepherd for dogs Scoutten miniatures

Collie is a medium -sized dog. There is no miniature of this raceAnd any miniaturization is dangerous!

Following fashion to make dogs small, pseudo-coreers select these individuals without taking into account their health. These activities should not be encouraged and you should always go to a refuge and personally check before deciding to buy a dog. According to the standard, Collie’s shepherd dogs should have between 51 and 61 cm to the task and only such individuals are a pure breed. The miniaturization of dogs deforms the skeletal and joint system, which leads to numerous diseases, discomfort and chronic pain in dogs.

The character of a Scottish shepherd dog

The Lassie breed is extremely laborious, loves new tasks and feels a feeling of satisfaction when it can help its masters. There are playful and lively dogs. Collie’s story influenced the personality and trained the character. Like pack dogs, they are very enthusiastic and easy to learn and listeners. They need enough exercise, simple walks will not meet their physical and mental requirements. The Scottish shepherd is ideal for canine sports.
They understand each other perfectly with children – of all ages – and with dogs. Their cheerful attitude towards any situation and any visitor disqualifies them for the role of the property guardian. Pastor dogs do not have in their nature to frighten foreigners, they initially approach the reserve, but in the end, after a few minutes, they already ask to be comforted. They are very close to their family, completely devoted to their guardians and, like the protagonist of the novel «Lessie, Return!». – They would do anything for them. Without hesitation, they will defend their master in a direct clash with an attacker.

Collie dogs are not suitable for families, rarely at home, and will not do well to be kept out in a cage. The Scottish shepherd needs a lot of human contact, closeness and love. Without this, they become depressed and disappear from the landscape. Their attachment to their master, as well as innate empathy, makes the shepherd dog a very receptive dog for people’s mood. Nervousness, aggression and anger are transferred to the dog and cause an immediate reaction. This breed needs a calm and harmonious tutor.

The sudden popularity of the Lassie breed had its advantages and disadvantages. The prices for Collie Dogs suddenly grown, as well as the question for them. This was exploited by pseudo-creators, who started combining individuals without taking into account the correctness and purity of the reproduction lines. This led, at some point, to the spread of pastors with nervous and shy dogs. A systematic struggle against the pseudo -creators stopped this process and the actions of the real breeders slowly reconstructed the lines of the old collie – harmonious, reliable, with a stable psychic.

Price of Scottish shepherds, reproduction

The price of a puppy varies between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds. Such a great discrepancy is due to the variety of colors, Collie Blue Merle with multicolored eyes that are the most desired. The price is still influenced by the sex of the puppy, the size and reputation of the dog and the predispositions of the dog.

A refuge must be chosen with care, checking its history and visiting their dogs, parents and the elderly. The breeder is obliged to show future tutors the results of the tests performed on the dog in question.

Interesting information on Collie’s shepherd dogs:

• Queen Victoria was a big fan of the Lassie race, her puppy is buried at Windsor Castle.

• The Scottish shepherd dog is the ancestor of the dog Kelpie and the dog Cattel.

• There are two lines of growth of the Scottish shepherd dog – American and English. The dog model described here follows the British line and only this line was accepted by the Kennel Club FCI. American Scottish shepherd dogs are older and can have more varieties of colors.

Photo Source: Canva.com

Karolina łuszczyk